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A study presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) revealed evidence of transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria between pet cats and dogs and their owners in the UK and Portugal. Researchers found similar antibiotic-resistant bacteria in six pets in Portugal and one in the UK and their owners. This highlights the importance of involving pet-owning families in efforts to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance, as antibiotic resistance poses a major public health threat worldwide. To reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, pet owners should practice good hygiene, including washing their hands after handling their pets and their droppings.
People in the UK and Portugal carry the same drug-resistant bacteria as their pets; Invite dogs and cats for inclusion in antibiotic resistance assessments.
Researchers have found evidence of transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria between pets and their owners in the UK and Portugal, highlighting the need to include pet-owning households in programs to reduce antimicrobial resistance.
Evidence of transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria between pet cats, dogs, and their owners will be presented at this year’s European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (April 15-18).
A Portuguese study found that six pets in Portugal and one in the UK were carrying antibiotic-resistant bacteria similar to those in their owners.
The results underscore the importance of including pet-owning households in programs to reduce the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels around the world. Drug-resistant infections kill an estimated 700,000 people annually globally, and the number is expected to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest threats to health the public. humanity.
“Owners can reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria by practicing good hygiene, including washing their hands after collecting dog or cat waste and even after petting them.” – Ms. Menezes
Dogs, cats, and other pets are known to contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that can cause human disease. Juliana Menezes and colleagues from the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, wanted to see if pets being treated with antibiotics for infections shared these pathogens with their owners.
Researchers tested stool samples from dogs and cats and their owners for Enterobacterales (a large family of bacteria that includes coli And Klebsiella pneumoniae) are resistant to common antibiotics.
They focused on bacteria resistant to third-generation cephalosporins (used to treat a wide range of conditions, including meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis, and are ranked among the most important antibiotics for human medicine by the World Health Organization) and carbapenems (part of them) of the line of defense. the latter when other antibiotics have failed). The prospective longitudinal study included five cats, 38 dogs, and 78 humans from 43 households in Portugal and seven dogs and eight humans from seven households in the United Kingdom.
In Portugal, one dog (1/43 pet, 2.3%) was colonized by a strain of multidrug-resistant OXA-181. Escherichia coli. OXA-181 is an enzyme that confers resistance to carbapenems.
Three cats and 21 dogs (24/43 pets, 55.8%) and 28 owners (28/78, 35.9%) harbored ESBL/Amp-C-producing intestines. These are resistant to third generation cephalosporins.
In eight families, two homes with cats and six dogs, both the pet and the owner carried ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. In six of these homes, it was[{” attribute=””>DNA of the bacteria isolated from the pets (one cat and five dogs) and their owners was similar, meaning these bacteria were probably passed between the animals and humans. It is not known whether they were transferred from pet to human or vice versa.
In the UK, one dog (1/7,14.3%) was colonized by multidrug-resistant E. coli producing NDM-5 and CTX-M-15 beta-lactamases. These E. coli are resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and several other families of antibiotics.
ESBL/AmpC-producing Enterobacterales were isolated from five dogs (5/7, 71.4%) and three owners (3/8, 37.5%).
In two households with dogs, both pet and owner were carrying ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. In one of these homes, the DNA of the bacteria isolated from the dog and owner was similar, suggesting the bacteria probably passed from one to the other. The direction of transfer is unclear.
All of the dogs and cats were successfully treated for their skin, soft tissue, and urinary tract infections.
The owners did not have infections and so did not need treatment.
Ms. Menezes, a PhD student, says: “In this study, we provide evidence that bacteria resistant to a third generation cephalosporins, critically important antibiotics, are being passed from pets to their owners.
“Dogs and cats may aid the spread and persistence of such bacteria in the community and it is vitally important that they are included in assessments of antimicrobial resistance.
“Owners can reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria by practicing good hygiene, including washing their hands after collecting their dog or cat’s waste and even after petting them.”
This article is based on oral presentation 208 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) annual meeting. The material has been peer-reviewed by the congress selection committee.
The work was supported by JPIAMR/0002/2016 Project—PET-Risk Consortium and by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia IP (UIDB/00276/2020); JM and JMS were supported by a PhD fellowship (2020.07562.BD; 2020.06540.BD, respectively).